1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a semiconductor optical device.
2. Description of the Background Art
K. Hinser et al. have described a buried heterostructure (BH) laser diode and a production method thereof using the vapor-phase etching technique in a literature reported in Technical Digest of Optical Fiber Communication, 2003, FG7, pp. 684-685. The method of producing a laser diode using the vapor-phase etching technique described in the foregoing literature is explained below. First, a semiconductor laminate is formed on a substrate. Next, a stripe-shaped mask made of SiO2 is formed on the semiconductor laminate. The wafer having the stripe mask is loaded into a metal organic vapor phase epitaxy reactor. Subsequently, methyl iodide and PH3 are concurrently supplied into the reactor. The semiconductor laminate on which the stripe mask is formed is etched by an etching gas composed of the methyl iodide. Thus, a mesa is formed. Directly after the mesa is formed, without taking out the wafer from the reactor, a p-type current-blocking layer and an n-type current-blocking layer are formed on the side face of the mesa.